A macroeconomist's take on education

The analysis of data from the past yields flawed insights about the future in times of structural shifts

The New Wealth of Nations

Surjit Bhalla

Simon and Schuster

217 pages; Rs 358

Surjit Bhalla is one of those rare breed of economists who is able to slice and dice data in myriad ways and extract uncommon insights. But this volume is less about the numbers and more about, as the author might refer to, the rarely acknowledged wealth called education. Whether it is the large but closing gap between the advanced and the not-so-advanced economies, or the low growth in wages for those with less education, or, for that matter, how India and China are fast closing the gap with the rest